Chapter Text
Fridays had acquired an almost unchanging routine ever since Harry had begun his final year at Hogwarts.
After breakfast, Ancient Runes with Bathsheda Babbling.
That morning, however, there was something different about the professor.The woman seemed incapable of hiding her enthusiasm. Ever since she had entered the classroom, she had worn an almost childlike expression of anticipation, as if she were about to reveal to them one of the greatest secrets of the subject. She walked between the desks with an unusual energy for her and, when she finally began the class, she made the reason for her excitement clear.
That day they would begin working with material related to the N.E.W.T.s.
The subject aroused more interest than usual. For seventh-year students, anything related to the final exams managed to capture their attention, even if only because of the need to know exactly what they would be facing a few months later.Harry, for his part, had little to worry about in Runes. His result in the O.W.L. had been extraordinarily good, something that still surprised him from time to time. And, although part of the credit belonged to his own effort, he owed another part of it to Tom.
At Babbling's express request, Tom had begun occasionally attending her classes to help those students who struggled with some of the translations or runic structures. It was something the professor had gladly accepted, especially after seeing just how useful he could be.What Harry had not expected was for Babbling to end up placing him precisely next to him that morning.
The apparently innocent decision ended up becoming Harry's main distraction for the following two hours. Instead of concentrating exclusively on the inscriptions in front of them, the two of them ended up speaking quietly for a good part of the class. Not about anything especially important at first, but the conversation progressed until it led to lunch and the possibility of meeting afterward in the courtyard.
Harry left Runes with the feeling that hardly any time had passed.The break was much quieter. He headed with Ron and Hermione to one of the usual places, where the three of them managed to enjoy those few minutes of freedom before returning to classes. Hermione took advantage of the time to study, sitting on the floor with her back against Harry's while she reviewed some notes. Harry, meanwhile, had managed to drag Ron into a game of chess.
It was a strangely domestic image; Hermione turning pages behind him, Ron grumbling every time Harry moved a piece and Harry trying to concentrate while listening to both of their complaints.
The next destination was Charms.
Filius Flitwick welcomed them with his usual enthusiasm and, after explaining the spell they would practice that morning, decided that he needed a more precise demonstration before allowing the rest of the class to begin. To Harry's surprise, the professor sent him to fetch a student from another class.
Cho Chang.
The young woman returned with him shortly afterward and demonstrated the spell with an almost insulting ease. Her execution was clean, precise and elegant, exactly as Flitwick expected his students to eventually perform it.
Harry watched attentively.
Then he tried it.
Seven minutes.
That was all he needed.
By the time the rest of the class was still trying to get the spell to work without causing disastrous results, Harry already had it mastered with a naturalness that made Flitwick look particularly pleased.
And, instead of simply finishing his own task, Harry ended up spending practically the rest of the class helping the others perfect the spell together with Cho.
When the bell finally rang, Harry had the impression that he had spent the entire morning teaching.
Cho had not left either.Between the two of them, they ended up helping several of their classmates, and Harry discovered that, although he had never considered himself particularly patient as a teacher, explaining things to others was not so unpleasant when he knew exactly how to solve them.
Then came lunch.Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione at the entrance to the Great Hall and took a different path from the others.
The Astronomy Tower was much quieter at that hour, although there were one or two students there; the area could still be considered quiet and that was also where Tom was already waiting for him.
They both sat on the stairs so they could eat and talk, the conversation began with the exams. Harry told him how the morning had gone and they both ended up talking about expectations for the N.E.W.T.s, Tom gave Harry advice and Harry made mental notes of it, they also talked about previous results and the subjects that would probably require the most effort.
But, as usually happened when they talked, the subject ended up drifting toward something much stranger.
Tom was working on a research project.
A Time-Turner was part of it.
Harry listened attentively as Tom explained some of his ideas, although there was one part that particularly caught his attention: the research related to the possibility of splitting souls.
That made Harry pay even closer attention.There was something about the way Tom spoke about the subject that he found difficult to ignore.It did not seem like a simple academic curiosity.
However, before Harry could delve too deeply, they had to part ways.
After lunch came Potions.
And that meant Snape.
Harry entered the classroom prepared to endure the next two hours as silently as possible,then he saw the seating arrangement.
And realized that the day could still get worse.
Snape, to the surprise of almost everyone —though not those who knew the professor well enough—, had decided to sit him next to Draco Malfoy.
The blond snake took barely a few seconds to begin muttering about Potter's clumsiness.
Again and again.
Every time Harry made the slightest mistake, Malfoy found a way to point it out. When Harry did something correctly, he found another way to turn it into a criticism. When Harry simply remained silent, he seemed to consider that a provocation as well.
The two hours became endless.
Snape, of course, did not help.
Harry seriously began to consider that the class must have been specifically designed to test the students' psychological endurance or at least his own. When the bell finally rang, he left the classroom with an almost physical sense of relief.
The next break lasted half an hour and, considering that, Harry did not waste any time. He headed straight toward the Hufflepuff table and found Cedric Diggory, with whom he had been working for some time on an experimental spell concerning underwater breathing.
That research had progressed quite a lot over the last few weeks, although there were still several issues they could not manage to solve.The two of them concentrated on them during the brief break, exchanging ideas and reviewing the notes they had accumulated.
The problem was that time passed too quickly,Harry barely realized that he was arriving late to his next class; Defense Against the Dark Arts,his favorite subject.It was not only because he was good at it. It was because that year it had acquired a completely different meaning.
Remus Lupin.
His father.
He was still not officially a professor. He was still an intern, an auxiliary figure who helped in certain classes, but Harry did not need any official title to feel happy every time he had the opportunity to see him inside the castle and took the opportunity to have lunch or dinner with him.
Since that year, Hogwarts had found an excuse to make better use of seventh-year students: two professors in certain classes allowed groups to be divided and performance to be improved.
And Remus had ended up being one of them.
Harry knew that this was also related to Alastor Moody's increasingly frequent absence. The former professor barely appeared in classes anymore. There were too many issues related to his mental health and the effects that prolonged exposure to dark magic had caused in him for him to maintain his usual pace.
That was why another professor had begun covering some of his hours.
A professor Harry knew almost nothing about.
A ghost who, for some reason, seemed determined to remain hidden from the rest of the school.
Harry had never seen him before, nor had he heard of him.
But that barely managed to distract him. Remus was there and that was enough.
The class passed much faster than Harry would have liked and although he felt a little disappointed by the amount of time he had been able to spend with his father. But when it ended, the best news of the day arrived and put him back in a good mood.
They had no more classes, it was Friday and they had the whole night free.
As long as they remained near Hogwarts, seventh-year students could use those hours however they wished.
Harry did not need much time to decide how to do so.
The Invisibility Cloak covered them as they made their way through the corridors of the castle.
Blaise Zabini had invited Ron and his friends to a party in the Slytherin common room, and although the invitation had been received with some disbelief by some, no one had actually rejected the idea.
The possibility of a night without teachers, homework and schedules was too tempting for a group of teenagers who had to relieve their stress somehow.
So around eight, the group carefully moved through the corridors, Harry keeping an eye on everyone, making sure no one fell behind.
That was when Neville stumbled.
He did not fall, but he came dangerously close.
Harry reacted purely on instinct and grabbed his hand before he could cause a disaster. Neville was so nervous that, after that, neither of them dared to separate.
So they continued walking hand in hand until they reached the entrance to the dungeons.
Harry had to contain a smile; Neville seemed convinced that they would be discovered at any moment.
Luckily, that did not happen.
When they finally went through the door, the atmosphere changed completely.
The Slytherin common room hardly seemed like the same room Harry had seen on other occasions.
The stone walls were illuminated by green and silver lights, some floating directly in the air and others casting reflections over the windows overlooking the lake. Music filled the space with a constant rhythm and conversations mixed with laughter, shouts and the sound of glasses clinking together.
There were students everywhere.
Some danced in the center of the room. Others were spread across the sofas and armchairs, talking in small groups. The tables had been moved toward the edges to make space and someone had managed to turn a corner into a sort of improvised drinks bar.
Harry did not take long to blend in.
Perhaps because, after so many years at Hogwarts, he had learned to move among very different groups without worrying too much about the old divisions between houses.
He danced.
He laughed.
He let himself be carried away by the atmosphere.
But he never stopped looking toward his friends from time to time; Ron seemed to be having too much fun, Hermione was trying to maintain some control over the situation, Neville had managed to relax after the first few minutes and Harry, for once, had no immediate worries.
Until tiredness began to catch up with him. After a while he left the dance floor and dropped onto one of the sofas.
He needed to breathe.
The noise continued around him, but from there he could observe everything without being in the middle of the crowd.
It was not long before Theodore Nott appeared nearby, eventually sitting beside him because there were no other seats available except the place next to Harry.
The conversation began simply, the weather, the party, the exams and ended up turning toward Quidditch.
Harry found himself talking with Theo about teams, players, strategies and memorable matches. The conversation had something surprisingly natural about it, especially considering that they had rarely had the opportunity to talk like that.
Between one drink and another, Harry stood up again after having regained his strength. This time it was he who looked for a free space among the crowd and, when he found one, gestured for him to accompany him to the dance floor.
Theo accepted.
At first they danced while keeping a certain distance, following the rhythm of the music among the other students. However, the dance floor was getting increasingly crowded and, little by little, the separation between them decreased until they ended up practically pressed together.
Harry completely let himself go. His hair was completely tousled, some strands stuck to his forehead with sweat and his shirt was beginning to cling slightly to his body. After so many hours of classes and having spent a good part of the night dancing, he looked like a wet dog that had just come out of a swimming pool and, even so, seemed to be enjoying himself more than anyone.
Theo, on the other hand, was baffling.
Harry did not understand how he could still look like that after so long on the dance floor. He did not look tired. He was not even particularly sweaty. His hair remained practically in place and his clothes showed barely any signs of having been through a party.
It was as if Theo had decided to dance without allowing the physical effort to interfere with his appearance.
Harry had to contain a smile when he realized it, the closeness allowing him to perceive even his scent.
Theo smelled good. Not of strong perfume, but of something much more discreet: a clean and slightly woody mixture, with a fresh note that reminded him of rain on stone and a faint touch of cedar. It was a warm smell, but not heavy, and was surprisingly pleasant when there was barely any air between them.
Harry returned his attention to the music.They could no longer talk. The volume was too high and the crowd too noisy, but neither did it seem necessary. They danced following the same rhythm, sometimes turning, other times simply moving to the beat of the music. At certain moments, when people pushed them from behind, Harry ended up even closer to Theo, and neither of them seemed too concerned about it.The green and silver lights moved across the room, reflecting on their faces and then disappearing among the crowd.
For a few minutes, Harry stopped thinking about classes, exams, responsibilities and the headache he would have the next day thanks to the alcohol, but at that moment only the music, the warmth of the room and Theo in front of him existed.
Until a group of students crossed the dance floor and the crowd ended up separating them. Harry barely had time to see Theo disappear among the others before losing sight of him completely,he tried to locate him for a few seconds, but it was useless.
Then he saw Ginny.
The redhead appeared among the people with a smile that Harry recognized instantly and, without needing too many explanations, approached him and ended up taking him back toward the center of the dance floor.
Harry smiled and simply let himself be carried away.
With Ginny everything was different.There was not that strange calm he had had with Theo. Ginny danced with contagious energy, moving to the rhythm of the music without worrying too much about who might be watching them. Harry ended up following her almost instinctively, letting himself be dragged along by her movements as they both made their way through the other students.
Little by little they ended up close again,very close.
The crowd meant there was barely any space between them and, every time someone passed too quickly or bumped into one of them, Harry ended up moving even closer to Ginny before regaining his balance.She did not seem to care.
Neither did Harry.
After a few minutes, Harry was completely immersed in the moment. His hair was even more disheveled than before and the heat of the room was beginning to make itself felt on his skin. He had regained his strength, but the dance floor was once again demanding every drop of energy he had left.
Ginny, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy precisely that.Her red hair moved with every turn, catching the green and silver flashes of the lights. From time to time she moved closer to Harry to follow the rhythm and then moved away a few centimeters, only to end up moving close again when the crowd pushed them.
Harry could smell Ginny's perfume amid the heat and the smell of the party: something sweet and fresh, with a slight floral scent that mixed with that of her hair.
They did not need to talk. The music was still too loud to maintain a conversation and, after all, there was nothing to say.
Harry simply danced.He let himself be carried away by the rhythm, the music and Ginny's energy. The redhead was right in front of him, laughing as she followed the beat of the song, when Harry suddenly felt hands on his shoulders from behind.He turned slightly and discovered Seamus.
The Irishman seemed much drunker than Harry had imagined. His cheeks were flushed, he had a huge smile and barely seemed aware of how close he was to the others.Before Harry could react, Seamus pulled him back into the rhythm of the music.
And so Harry ended up between the two of them.
Ginny in front, Seamus behind and Harry trying to keep dancing while the crowd continuously pushed them from one side to the other. The three of them were so close that there was barely any room to move freely. Harry burst out laughing when Seamus nearly lost his balance and had to hold onto his shoulders to avoid ending up on the floor.The situation became increasingly chaotic.
Ginny was completely absorbed in the music and Seamus seemed to have completely forgotten that something called personal space existed. Harry tried to keep up with the rhythm, but between the shoving, the laughter and Seamus's increasingly drunken state, it was beginning to resemble less a dance and more a battle to stay on his feet.
That was when Hermione appeared.The expression on the brunette's face made it quite clear that she had been watching them for a while.Without wasting time, she grabbed Harry by one arm and pulled him out of the dance floor. Seamus tried to follow them, still laughing, but Hermione ended up holding onto him as well and practically dragged them both away from the crowd.
Harry let himself be pulled away laughing, still trying to catch his breath.Judging by Hermione's face, that night had just officially crossed the line between a fun party and a party that needed supervision.
Hermione finally dropped onto one of the sofas, visibly tired after having had to pull Harry and Seamus off the dance floor. Harry took advantage of the free space beside her and, without asking permission, dropped down as well.A second later he was already lying down, resting his head on his friend's lap. Hermione looked down at him, surprised by how quickly he had made that decision, but she did not protest.
Harry closed his eyes.Everything seemed to move slightly. He complained under his breath that he was dizzy and remained completely still for a few seconds, trying to get the room to stop spinning.
Hermione began absentmindedly stroking his hair, brushing some damp strands away from his forehead. The gesture made Harry relax a little.Then, the dark-haired boy asked about Ron. “And Ron?”
Hermione explained that he had left a while ago with Blaise, although she had no real idea where they were or what they were doing. By that point, she did not seem to have enough energy to go looking for them either.Harry let out a sigh. He remained lying down while Hermione continued running her fingers through his hair, until she wrinkled her nose upon realizing how soaked he was.He was completely sweaty after having spent so much time dancing. Hermione complained about it, momentarily pulling her hand away from his hair as if she had just discovered particularly unpleasant evidence.Harry let out a tired laugh. Even so, when he settled back onto her lap, Hermione continued stroking his hair, although this time trying not to touch the wetter parts too much.
For the first time all night, Harry remained completely still.